Saving Grace, Finding the Right Story
My current story went through quite a few contortions this week.
Come to think of it, I did, too.
I continued to combine work on the story with coursework and reading through Plot & Structure (James Scott Bell), but it didn’t take long to realize the reading was getting way ahead of where the story currently is. For most of the week, I was still trying to identify the basics of goal, motivation and conflict with my writing while reading about the second and third acts, writing powerful scenes and creating complex plots. Not a good fit!
But Plot & Structure was helpful. Early in the week, I read a suggestion that writers choose an opposition character who is a human. That seems pretty basic, I know, but in two of the four ideas that came out of the previous week’s work, the opposition ‘character’ was society at large, the environment through which the character passed, general hardships or various combinations of those things. That sort of thing can be done, but the moment I read that piece of advise, I realized that two of my ideas were best saved for later writing efforts. I was down to two basic ideas.
I continued to read the chapters and do the assignments, but the assignments and story planning had less and less to do with each other with every day that passed.
What the book couldn’t help me decide, my crit partners could. I wrote summaries for each of my ideas, pondered, rewrote, pondered some more, then submitted them to the group for their opinions. Since I can see the advantages and disadvantages of each idea, I was hoping a few objective opinions would help clear the muddle.
It did, but not in a way I anticipated. Almost everyone suggested what I had was a two-book series. I had been thinking the same thing, but having others confirm my thoughts opened a couple of new doors.
It also seemed to bring me up against a good bout of writer’s block. I struggled with that Thursday and Friday, seeming to take tiny steps forward and major steps backward. I salved my creative conscience by getting a lot done in the studio, but in the back of my mind was that nagging problem.
I don’t know what to do next!
One of the things James Scott Bell recommends repeatedly is stepping away from a writing project periodically to just relax. That seems an awful lot like doing nothing and I don’t like doing nothing, so I’ve resisted it mightily. But Neal was gone most of Saturday morning and I hadn’t been on the top of my game physically or mentally most of the week, so I decided to do some serious relaxing.
It took a while to get properly relaxed and to idle my mind sufficiently, but once I did, questions began to present themselves. Questions like:
What is Grace’s story?
Who is the real lead character and what is their story question?
Who is their opposition and why?
Do I have the right lead character in the right situation?
That proved to be the most important question of all. It provoked a good deal of thought and led to a few interesting conclusions, including the realization that I might be trying to wedge an existing lead character into a story where she doesn’t belong.
The rest of Saturday’s working time was given to exploring that idea more fully. I wanted to determine if I was, indeed, trying to force a story. If I was, how could it be best resolved? A new story for the lead character? A new lead character for the current story? Are there really two stories here?
In all of that, I found something that’s been missing for some time in my writing. Energy! Excitement! Yes, maybe even a spark of passion.
It’ll be Monday before I do any more work. It will be interesting to see if Saturday’s excitement survives until Monday, but I was pleased to end the week on a positive note, even if it looks like the process took a backward step.
A good weekend to you and keep writing!
